Little 500 off and racing

Amid sun, rain, snow and wind, the field was determined on Saturday for the 2003 Little 500 with the pole positions from both the men's and women's having a new look from last year. The men's position was claimed by Fiji, and Phi Mu was first in the women's race.\nHistory repeats, almost\nThe curve balls Mother Nature sent down to Bloomington Saturday didn't seem to have any effect on the 41 men's teams that came out in attempt to qualify for the 2003 race. \nLast year's Saturday qualification was cold and dreary and at times this year didn't seem to be that far from 2002. The top teams didn't disappoint either. The top four finishers from last year's Quals; Phi Delta Theta, Fiji, Team Major Taylor and The Corleones came out this year and had a similar showing. This year, Phi Delta Theta slipped into eighth place, Fiji finished first, followed by Team Major Taylor in second and last year's winners, The Corleones, rounded out the first row.\nThe team with the fastest time receives the pole position and the coveted yellow jersey. Come race day Fiji will be dressed in yellow after their finishing time of 2:23.191. They stole the pole position from The Corleones, who were the first men's team to take the track and finished at 2:27.649. They held the pole position until Fiji raced midday. After the new rankings no team came close to taking the spot, the second fastest team being Team Major Taylor at 2:26.391.\n"We were really psyched to get pole position," said Fiji rider, sophomore Charlie Crouse. "In the scheme of things it doesn't really mean much. The position is going to get us in front of the pack and out of a few wrecks. We did really well considering three of our four riders have never raced in quals before."\nThe importance of a team's performance on qualifications day can be of great significance, but many riders say their time is not crucial. Assistant IU Student Foundation director and Little 500 coordinator Alex Ihnen said the times don't reflect what many teams and riders are capable of.\n"Qualifications show off the strongest teams," Ihnen said. "But it's not the best indicator of what all the teams will do on race day. Quals is nothing but a positive for the teams; it gives them a chance to gain confidence."\nLast but not least, Phi Mu wins pole\nThe first three rows of the field for the 16th running of the women's Little 500 will include a few strangers and a few familiar faces from a year ago. \nIn a very intense day of qualifying, six different teams held the pole position -- three in the first 95 minutes -- until the last women's team of the day, Phi Mu, ended with the pole position with a time of 2:46.071.\n"Our team is a little surprised to say the least about the position," said senior Analisa Dziedziejko. "We knew with the time we had to beat, it was possible."\nLast year's pole sitter Kappa Kappa Gamma was the fourth team to take the first position with a time of 2:47.153, and held on to it for the majority of the day.\n"We thought we had a great day," Kappa Kappa Gamma senior Meg Haney said. "We are very pleased with our finish. We're not upset about not getting the pole. The pole position is strategically nice for race day."\nFive hours and five minutes later, Alpha Chi Omega, who placed 12th last year during quals, dethroned Kappa from the pole with their time of 2:46.892. No more than two hours later, the women of Phi Mu took the same position away from Alpha Chi Omega.\n"I'm disappointed we didn't get the pole, having it all day long, but I can't complain with front row," senior Elizabeth Keck said. \nThe surprise of the day though was Alpha Chi Omega, Ihnen said. \n"They qualed on the pole," he said. "They put in a lot of effort. They have been disappointed in the past, but it's great to see work like that pay off."\nBut the story of the day Saturday was Phi Mu having the fastest times on three of the four laps.\nJunior Amanda Litvan, junior Annika Hosni and Dzjedziejko outran the rest of the field in laps one, three and four, respectively. Alpha Gamma Delta's Corey Bitzer was the only non-Phi Mu to lead a lap.